Aftermath
by dustnik
Summary: Set in 1927. Lady Mary confronts Thomas about his behavior surrounding the royal visit.


Thomas entered the library to find Lady Mary all alone. "You wanted to see me, m'lady?"

"Yes. We need to have a talk, Barrow. I think you know what about."

He felt his pale cheeks redden. How had she learned of his arrest? He knew Richard had informed the police of his connection to the Earl of Grantham. They must have telephoned to confirm the story. He hung his head in shame. "The charges were dropped, and there won't be any further repercussions, m'lady."

She merely stared at him uncomprehendingly for a moment. "What charges are these?"

Realizing his error, he didn't reply and sought to change the subject instead. "Was there a particular matter on which you wished to speak with me?"

She let the evasion pass and returned to her previous topic of discussion. "I feel I need to address your behavior when you were asked to step down for the royal visit."

Thomas swallowed hard but managed to stay silent. He had been excited to learn of the King and Queen's plans, only to later receive the humiliating news that he was to be replaced for the duration of their stay by his predecessor, Mr. Carson. The betrayal had left him deeply hurt and extremely angry, which he had been unable to hide.

"Lord Grantham has chosen to overlook the incident, but if it had been up to me, I might have taken the matter further. Such impertinence will not be tolerated. Do you understand, Barrow?"

"Yes, m'lady." His expression was blank, but his jaws twitched slightly in an effort to control his temper.

Her manner softened. "It was never personal, you understand. It's just that Carson has more experience with that sort of thing."

Again, he remained silent.

"Barrow?" A note of irritation had crept into her voice. She was clearly expecting some sort of response.

He took a deep breath to calm himself. He couldn't risk a repetition of his previous performance. "I've worked in this house for seventeen years—as a footman, valet, underbutler, and now the butler. Yet you still have no confidence in my ability to do my job."

"I'm sure you could have easily managed—"

"Are you, m'lady? Because it doesn't seem so to me."

Mary threw back her head defensively. "As I said, it was never meant as a slight of your abilities. You're quite capable. It's just that I've known Carson for so long."

Was he always to remain the underbutler as long as old Carson was alive? He felt he needed to make her understand. "Since my return, I've worked hard to earn the respect of the staff, but they'll never accept me as the butler if the family doesn't."

She stopped to consider his words and finally conceded. "I see your point, and I'll keep it in mind in future."

"Thank you, m'lady. Will that be all, then?" He was anxious to get away.

"Not quite. I understand you went out on the evening of the royal dinner. Where did you go?"

He wondered from whom she had learned of his night out and decided the likely culprit was Anna. "As I had no duties here, I went into York with Mr. Ellis."

"Mr. Ellis—the valet who arrived with the King's butler?"

"His parents live in York, and we arranged to meet up for a drink after he saw them."

"And did you?"

"The visit ran longer than expected, m'lady. He wasn't able to make it."

"What did you do?"

"I waited for him at the pub."

Mary returned to his earlier confession. "So what were these 'charges' you mentioned before?"

He had hoped she'd forgotten that. His mind worked feverishly to concoct a plausible story that she would accept. "I'm afraid I had a little too much to drink and got into an altercation with another patron. The police were called, and I was arrested."

"You were in a fight?" She studied him closely. "You don't seem to have been injured." Her voice signaled her doubt at what she was being told.

"No. As I said, the charges were dropped, and I was released. I promise it won't happen again." He desperately hoped this last would put an end to the discussion.

But Mary seemed unwilling to let it drop. "I see. And if I were to travel to York and speak to the police there, they would tell me the same thing?"

His mouth opened and closed wordlessly.

She smiled slightly at his obvious discomfort. "Now why don't you tell me what really happened."

He looked down at the carpet in embarrassment. "I'm afraid I couldn't speak of it, m'lady."

"It might surprise you to learn that I'm tougher than I look. Did the police catch you and Mr. Ellis together?"

Thomas' head snapped up. "No! He wasn't involved in this, not at all." He was anxious that Richard not be tarnished by his recklessness. "I-I followed a man I met at the pub to an old warehouse. Inside, there were other men—other men like me. We danced, and that's when the police broke in and arrested us."

"You're sure that's all you were doing?"

"Yes, m'lady." He nodded vehemently. "I swear that's all it was. We were only there a few minutes." He couldn't tell her what those minutes had meant to him, to discover a whole community that he never knew existed where he felt accepted and happy.

"How did you manage to get released?"

"Richard—Mr. Ellis found out what happened, and I believe he used his position in the royal household to get the charges dismissed."

"He must like you to go to all that trouble. Do you like him?"

It felt strange to be speaking so openly of these matters, especially with a member of the family. "Yes, but we'll probably never see each other again," he replied wistfully. They had agreed to correspond, but their geographical distance and busy work schedules made it unlikely that they would meet in the future. "Are you going to sack me?"

"No. As you've reminded me, you have served us loyally for many years, and I think we can overlook it this once."

He breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, m'lady."

"Even I can see that you must have some sort of personal life, but you must be more discreet in the future, Barrow. As you said, you _are_ the butler now, and your behavior reflects on this house and this family."

"Of course," he agreed quickly. Richard had said much the same thing, warning him of the need to be more circumspect.

She smiled. "How could I face Master George if you left us again?"


End file.
